﹒Established Japanese import
﹒Very rare "Storm Grey" colour

﹒Exceptionally low mileage and excellent condition

The GT-Four is a high-performance, turbocharged and all-wheel drive version of the Celica built by Toyota to compete in the FIA World Rally Championship. The first generation of the GT-Four, the ST165, ran from 1986 to 1989 and debuted in the WRC in 1988, the year after the end of the fabled Group B supercars. Built to Group A regulations, this meant that the road cars were directly related to the rally cars that competed around the world. It used the turbocharged four-cylinder engine and permanent four-wheel drive with a viscous centre differential.

The second generation of GT-Four, the ST185, arrived in 1989 and continued until 1993 with 5000 examples produced for homologation reasons. This example started to achieve serious success in the WRC, at the hands of Carlos Sainz and took him and co-driver Luis Moya to the Driver’s title in 1990 and 1992 and Juha Kankkunen in 1993. 

Didier Auriol won the 1994 Driver’s championship in the ST205 while Toyota took the Manufacturer’s titles in 1993 and 1994. However, there was to be a sting in the tail for the St205; in 1995 at that year’s Rallye Catalunya in Spain, the team was caught with an illegal turbocharger and was subsequently banned for a year, returning in 1997 with the Corolla WC under the new World Rally Car regulations.

Originally sold in Japan, it was imported to the UK in 1998 and used in Britain until it was taken off the road and into storage as part of a collection in 2014. 

It came to the current seller – a specialist in imported Japanese vehicles – earlier in 2020 and he is now presenting it for sale. An although not one of the holomogated models, It is in remarkable condition and will have a fresh MoT and ready to offer the new owner a remarkable insight into the rallying exploits of the marque.

Unusually for a Japanese import vehicle, the car comes with its original handbook/service book with numerous stamps. However, as a Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) vehicle, this is entirely in Japanese but adds nicely to the vehicle’s provenance. A translation specialist should be able to shed light on the work carried out and the mileage at the relevant times. 

It also comes with its UK V5 registration document and will be presented with a fresh MoT certificate, as well as proof of the mechanical work carried out by the seller prior to delivery. There is also a selection of old MoT certificates and invoices for work carried out by previous owners in the UK.

The interior of the car is in exceptional condition, as befits a vehicle of this stature. It clearly has never been competed in – a relative rarity for a car which was built with the essential hardware used by the rally cars. 

The seats are in excellent condition, with no apparent wear or damage to the seat cushions or bolsters, nor to the material itself. The rear seats appear not to have been used at all and the headlining is also unmarked. The carpets are in excellent condition and show no real signs of wear. 

The dashboard is largely original, with the standard gauges intact. An aftermarket turbo boost pressure gauge has been fitted atop the dash panel and the car is also fitted with an aftermarket gear knob, from Italian manufacturer Momo.

The original Japanese specification radio has been removed and a double-DIN European-specification CD head unit fitted, presumably connected to the original speakers. 

The seller confirms that all the electrical equipment works as it should; the lighting, electric windows and door mirrors and he also confirms that the heating and ventilation controls work as intended. The interior cover for the tilt/slide electric sunroof slides smoothly and is unmarked and the sunroof itself also operates perfectly. All the controls are unmarked and show no signs of wear or damage.

There are two small threaded holes in the passenger side of the centre console which would appear to have been used to mount a bracket of some description – for a mobile phone, perhaps – and there is slight discolouration to the armrest on the passenger door. There is also wear-related damage to the gear-lever gaiter, which should be a straightforward rectification. 

The boot area houses the spare wheel and is in excellent condition, with no apparent corrosion or damage. The spare-wheel cover shows very slight evidence of liquid spill but the carpet is in good condition, the spare wheel itself appears untarnished nor damaged and the rear suspension strut brace appears to be wrapped in a fabric cover to improve the aesthetic. The seller states that the gas struts that bear the weight of the tailgate require replacing though, as they no longer hold the tailgate open.

The car’s bodywork is, like the interior, in exceptional condition. The paint – which in the photographs looks dark grey but in reality is metallic blue – is unmarked and plush with a deep lustre. There is no evidence of repairs or damage and the panel gaps, shuts lines and door gaps are all even and straight. The seller confirms there are one or two small dents in the roof, though these are not particularly noticeable.

The upper front grille shows slight wear in the black paint but the seller confirms this will be revitalised prior to sale. The front of the car appears to be free of stone chips or road damage and this extends to other vulnerable areas, such as wing mirrors, the bonnet and the flared wheel arches. 

The bonnet itself is formed in aluminium to lower the car’s overall weight and the various vents and scoops are also in excellent condition, showing no signs of distortion. 

The glass slide/tilt sunroof is unmarked on the exterior and the rear side windows are tinted. The front light lenses appear unmarked and all lights operate as intended, including the lower fog/driving lights. 

Both door handles are unmarked, as is the paintwork around the door locks, indicating that the owners have shown it the care and attention it is worthy of. 

The car wears the standard road-going GT-Four boot spoiler but with the branded raiser blocks for the Group A rally car homologation. The deep rear bumper is unmarked and the ‘GT-Four’ badges are in excellent condition. Like the door handles, the paintwork around the boot lock is unmarked. 

The rear number plate recess is filled with a JDM-size plate displaying the British registration number, since a regular UK sized plate would look wrong. 

The wheels appear to be the original-specification OZ Racing five-spoke design, finished in excellent white paint. They appear undamaged and there is no evidence of corrosion. The photographs show slightly rusted wheel nuts but the seller confirms these will be replaced with a complete set of new nuts when the car is sold. 

There is one area at the base of the passenger door window where the plasticised weather strip appears to have worn away from the chrome strip but this is the only area of wear apparent on the car’s exterior.

Mechanically, the car is in excellent working order. The engine starts promptly and with no untoward noises or smoking. Once running, it adopts an even idle and drives superbly, with the turbocharger spooling up as it should and producing the correct amount of boost. The engine has been treated to an HKS induction kit, replacing the original restrictive intake pipework and a Powerflow performance rear silencer, which gives a pleasing and suitably aggressive note. 

The seller also believes it has had a dump valve fitted to help minimise turbo lag and as a homologation special, various elements used by the rally car are present, though not connected, such as pipework for the anti-lag turbo response system and the water spray for the intercooler to cool the incoming charge. He confirms that there is no evidence to suggest that the engine management system is anything other than original, standard specification. 

The transmission and all-wheel drive system work as they should do, as do the brakes and the suspension. Both the front and rear suspension turrets are braced, the rear across the car and the front, to the centre of the bulkhead, to improve rigidity and hence, suspension performance. 

The under bonnet area is in excellent shape, with just surface rust to mild steel components and slight corrosion to some of the aluminium hardware, such as the alternator body. The seller confirms that the car has had a complete service and a replacement clutch, comprising a full three-piece kit – pressure plate, cover and release bearing. 

The underside of the vehicle is also in excellent condition – it was clearly undersealed when it arrived in the UK in 1998. The seller assures us that while there is occasional area of slight surface rust, the structure of the vehicle is intact with no major area of rust.

The fact that it is in such good condition, both externally and internally and now, mechanically as well with the addition of a brand new clutch and recent complete service, means that it offers a spirited driver perhaps one of the most engaging drives possible. 

It is the ultimate all-rounder; equally at home on a run to the shops or up the motorway as it is on a high-speed blast across the mountains of Wales or the Lake District. It’s handling is nimble and predictable; its power and torque are strong and relentless and its four-wheel drive system delivers excellent grip and drive. 

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